recipes to live for

Inspired by Arlette, I’ve been making Vegan Yum Yum’s vegan alfredo the past couple of weeks. The only reason I haven’t posted about it yet is because it’s surprisingly hard to photograph: by the time you remember to get the camera out, you’ve already eaten it all! This happened to me at least twice. It’s just that good. No, it’s not exactly the same as “real” alfredo but who cares? It’s tasty in its own right, and far healthier.

I like to call this recipe a vegan chemistry experiment. It’s made out of a bunch of random pantry and fridge staples that most people would probably never think to combine. It’s really satisfying to turn a pile of ingredients into something you’d never expect from them.

I took a cue from Arlette and doubled the cashews. I also reduced the soy sauce and nutritional yeast quantities a bit because the first time I made it, those flavors were too strong for my taste.

I have to say, this recipe is one of the easiest things to make in my dinner arsenal. You literally throw all the ingredients into a blender, turn it on, and about 1 minute later you’re done. Oh, and boil the pasta. Seriously though, cooking doesn’t get much quicker than that. It reheats pretty well too (unlike real alfredo).

While the pasta’s cooking, put all ingredients into the blender. Blend on high for about 30 seconds to a minute, until it’s reached a creamy consistency.

Pour sauce over cooked, drained pasta and toss. I like to throw in some toasted pine nuts too. The sky’s the limit when it comes to what you add to this dish.

Serve with fresh ground black pepper. (Don’t tell but I like to put fresh grated parmesan cheese on top of mine. Hey, I never claimed to be vegan myself! I just like to make tasty things for my lactose intolerant fiance and my vegan friends.)